The 2020 end of year music lists thread

great list, sean, and better write-ups

The deWardener sounds interesting. Will listen.

It's a pleasant listen.

Treble lists are a mix of hivemind and stuff I've never heard of (may be my metal blindspot).
https://www.treblezine.com/best-albums-of-2020/
https://www.treblezine.com/best-songs-of-2020/

Some genre-specific lists here:
https://www.treblezine.com/category/lists-2/best-of/

Sean thank god you’re back StG was almost completely silent this year. Your eoy list is a tradition for me.

Phonica list: lol had no idea Omar S had an ep called “Fuck Resident Advisor” and I can see why. They compared his last record to a Ford Fiesta and sort of judge him for not being poor and/or having the blues anymore?: https://www.residentadvisor.net/reviews/24832

The treblezine lists are a refreshing surprise for sure. Great #1 album choice.

Blues Rock Review - Top 20 Albums of 2020
https://bluesrockreview.com/2020/12/top-20-albums-of-2020.html

20. Jeremiah Johnson: Heavens To Betsy
19. Tinsley Ellis: Ice Cream In Hell
18. Savoy Brown: Ain’t Done Yet
17. Alastair Greene: The New World Blues
16. Artur Menezes: Fading Away
15. Shemekia Copeland: Uncivil War
14. Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown: Pressure
13. Dion: Blues With Friends
12. Marcus King: El Dorado
11. Fantastic Negrito: Have You Lost Your Mind Yet?
10. Robert Jon and the Wreck: Last Light On The Highway
9. When Rivers Meet: We Fly Free
8. Larkin Poe: Self Made Man
7. King King: Maverick
6. Mike Zito: Quarantine Blues
5. Anthony Gomes: Containment Blues
4. Philip Sayce: Spirit Rising
3. Walter Trout: Ordinary Madness
2. The Allman Betts Band: Bless Your Heart
1. Joe Bonamassa: Royal Tea

The Morning Star - Best Albums of 2020
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/c/albums-with-ian-sinclair

somewhat damning indictment of socialism in 2020 tbh

The Pit claims to be a "Heavy metal news, opinions, and culture" website.
It is actually owned by Warner Music, so their top metal albums of 2020 probably takes that into account.

20. Kvelertak, Splid (Rise Records)
19. Necrot, Mortal (Tankcrimes)
18. Deftones, Ohms (Reprise Records)
17. Mr. Bungle, The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo (Ipecac)
16. Nothing, The Great Dismal (Relapse Records)
15. Carnation, Where Death Lies (Season of Mist)
14. Mrs. Piss, Self-Surgery (Sargent House)
13. Tombs, Under Sullen Skies (Season of Mist)
12. Code Orange, Underneath (Roadrunner Records)
11. Bedsore, Hypnagogic Hallucinations (20 Buck Spin)
10. Avatar, Hunter Gatherer (eOne)
9. Killer Be Killed, Reluctant Hero (Nuclear Blast)
8. Wayfarer, A Romance With Violence (Profound Lore)
7. Video Nasties, Dominion (APF Records)
6. Body Count, Carnivore (Century Media)
5. Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou, May Our Chambers Be Full (Sacred Bones)
4. Primitive Man, Immersion (Relapse Records)
3. The Black Dahlia Murder, Verminous (Metal Blade Records)
2. Spirit Adrift, Enlightened In Eternity (20 Buck Spin)
1. Ozzy Osbourne, Ordinary Man (Epic)

http://www.wearethepit.com/2020/12/the-pits-20-best-albums-of-2020/

South China Morning Post - Best K-Pop albums of 2020

Solo artists: https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/artists-celebrities/article/3114302/best-k-pop-solo-albums-2020-boa-kai-hwa-sa
Groups: https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/bands/article/3113963/top-15-k-pop-albums-2020-bts-twice-nct-127-monsta-x-super-m

1. Joe Bonamassa: Royal Tea

lol Joe Bonamassa is one of those people whose names I know strictly from posters because he shows up in town reliably every year or two. I guess he has a following. I don't think I've ever heard him, I'm just assuming Blueshammer-style guitar pyrotechnics.

(I just listened to one track and it met my expectations.)

Speaking of, where is the love for Blueshammer in the end-of-year polls? They've been bringing that real down-home delta blues for 30-odd years at this point.

The record it bums me out to see get stiffed (outside of Bandcamp including into today's EOY selection) is Zeroh's 'BLQLYTE'. An astonishing record that sounded the most like 2020 to me.

Musicophilia Best of 2020:@_zeroh - 'BLQLYTE'https://t.co/ueNbZdkf08

— Musicophilia (@musicophiliamix) November 26, 2020

I like it a lot

It made the Wire list

Glad to hear both those facts : )

I liked it a lot as well. I only spent one session with it so far, but I was very impressed by it.

Well-made and interesting but the palette was far too slate-grey and brooding to really sustain my interest. There's loads of stuff out there like this now

Please point me to the "loads" of music that is as intricate, intense, spatial, psychedelic, emotional, crafted as 'BLQLYTE'. Seriously.

Bandcamp - The Year's Essential Releases
https://daily.bandcamp.com/best-of-2020/best-of-2020-the-years-essential-releases

Love that Okkyung Lee album. I can't remember if I posted about it in the contemporary 'classical' thread, or got scared off by the fact that I don't actually know anything about contemporary classical.

xps I've been listening to Zeroh a lot this week (I'm listening to only albums with monochrome/grayscale/B&W covers, to make the EOY deluge manageable). My initial impressions were pretty close to imago's but it's really opened up on subsequent listens!

Other great albums that my monochrome listening strategy has lead me to: Daniel Romano's How Ill Thy World Is Ordered, Photay's Waking Hours, Keeley Forsyth's Debris, Lianne La Havas's self-titled, and that Kelly Lee Owens album that everyone else but me already realized was incredible.

(Fun/weird fish fact: LLH and KLO both cover the same Radiohead song!)

https://www.brooklynvegan.com/big-thiefs-buck-meek-tells-us-about-his-top-10-swimming-holes-of-2020/

It always makes me sad to hear people say they’re avoiding the rolling classical threads because of the genre’s forbidding reputation. C’mon, this is ILM, we can shitpost about whatever music we want, nothing is off-limits! And I can’t think of a gentler place to discuss this stuff on the internet...

So please pop in and chat about Okkyung Lee (whose album I enjoyed btw, and I know that at least one other ILMer is a fan).

(xps to bernard snowy)

Okkyung Lee is one of my favourites of the year, for certain.

I haven't heard that particular Okkyung Lee record, but I like several other records of hers that I have heard, and I got to see her perform with Cecil Taylor at one of his final public appearances, maybe his final public appearance, at the Whitney Museum in 2016.

i love the okkyung lee record! not really that familiar with the rest of her stuff so i'm not really sure where this fits in. the only other one that i heard was a lot more dissonant, was surprised how light and airy this one was. beautifully recorded too. reminded me a bit of rachel's' 'music for egon schiele' iirc?

anyhow...

Guitar World - The 20 best guitar albums of 2020
https://www.guitarworld.com/features/the-20-best-guitar-albums-of-2020

20. Larkin Poe – Self Made Man
19. Covet – Technicolor
18. Mr. Bungle – The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo
17. Deftones – Ohms
16. Al Joseph – Labyrinth
15. Sons of Apollo – MMXX
14. Pearl Jam – Gigaton
13. Testament – Titans of Creation
12. Lamb of God – Lamb of God
11. Richie Kotzen – 50 for 50
10. Marty Friedman – Tokyo Jukebox 3
9. Intervals – Circadian
8. Ozzy Osbourne – Ordinary Man
7. Trivium – What the Dead Men Say
6. Joe Satriani - Shapeshifting
5. Plini - Impulse Voices
4. AC/DC - Power Up
3. John Petrucci - Terminal Velocity
2. Andy James - C.S.I.L
1. Kiko Loureiro - Open Source

anyone want to rep for any of those? kind of tempted to check out the covet record...

The Deftones record rules and the Pearl Jam record is one of their stronger latter day records, but beyond that I can't say I've heard anything, totally spaced on checking out that new Testament record.

Wait, I did hear that Sons of Apollo record, it's not good at all. But I don't imagine a "supergroup" with Mike Portnoy and Bumblefoot is going to get much ilm traction anyway.

Had to google Bumblefoot, doesn't sound good tbh!

Bumblefoot, or plantar pododermatitis, is caused by introduction of staphylococcus bacteria and is found on the toes, hocks and pads of a chicken's foot. It is characterized by a pus-filled abscess that is covered by a black scab and is paired with lameness, swelling, and the infected bird's reluctance to walk

A friend linked that Plini album to me a few weeks ago and I've listened a few times. I considered nominating it for the heavy albums poll, but I wouldn't have voted for it. It's a good vibes album, though.

After thinking about the Plini more... My first reaction when I heard it is that I didn't know people were still making that kind of music. The guitar ton and style reminds me of 80s Satriani and/or Steve Vai, and the vibe like the music Wyld Stallyns want to make in the first Bill & Ted movie. The production is immaculate. My friend said it was "Steve Wilson-esque". I had to Google him.

The Trivium and AC/DC records are both good. I may be the only person on ILX who likes Trivium.

Here are some of my favorite songs of the year. As usual, I had some valuable consultation from our family music guru, Sasha, to put this together. I hope you find a new song or two to listen to. pic.twitter.com/K1NRPYiSg4

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 19, 2020

this is unusually good for one of these. kind of stunned that sault isn't on there but lido pimienta is

lido now easily the most famous person I have ever purchased a frozen dessert for

v sad to learn that little simz is neoliberalism

this list is pretty good :)

https://www.kexp.org/read/2020/12/16/2020-top-ten-list-spotlight-reverend-dollars/

nice, will check out yr top 3

(backxwash and brandy i already know + love)

didn't know you were rev, EM! I love (and am occasionally repping for) the Miyamoto is Black Enough Album. You're also the only other person i'm seeing big upping the Bbymutha, which is very good.

and Tiwa Savage’s Celia!

yeah, love that one too

didnt know extended mix was rev

love the irreversible entanglements